Basics of investing

你是投资新手，不知道从哪里开始? You’re not alone. 投资的世界可能是一个令人生畏的地方. However, learning the basic terms and concepts can be a good place to start.

What is investing

The term investing generally refers to the idea of setting money aside now with the expectation that it will earn you a profit in the future.

你准备好开始投资了吗?

Since the money you’ll be setting aside to invest won’t be readily accessible, 首先，你要做好准备，以防出现财务紧急情况.

Do you have an emergency fund? It’s helpful to have 应急基金:在应急基金中拨出的钱 to help cover unexpected costs associated with things like medical expenses, car or home repairs, 紧急宠物护理或收入损失.

How much debt do you owe? Try to get a handle on any debt 你可能欠信用卡、学生贷款或私人贷款.

What are your goals?

Consider having a set of financial goals 在立即投入投资之前确定. 一旦你确立了一些目标, you can start identifying which investment options are aligned with your goals.

Why start investing now

越早开始，时间就越长 你的钱将有机会增值 借助复利.

• Compound interest – Earning interest on interest. With compound interest, your money earns more over time than it does with simple interest like in a savings account.

What’s your risk tolerance?

Your risk tolerance is based on how much uncertainty you’re willing to accept from an investment. 换句话说，就是你愿意承担多大的风险?

• Conservative – Not losing money on an investment is more important to you than making money.
• Moderate -你会冒一点风险来赚更多的钱, but if things start to go badly, 你可以调整你的投资以降低风险.
• Aggressive -你明白要使你的投资最大化, 你必须用你的钱承担最大的风险.

What is a time horizon?

A time horizon is the amount of time you plan to wait before accessing the money you’ve invested. 5年、10年或25年后你还需要钱吗? 你的回答可能会影响你是否想要保守, 适度或激进的投资.

• Shorter – Generally, 如果你需要在短期内获得你的投资资金, 你可以考虑保守的方法.
• Longer -如果你能让你投资的钱长期为你工作, 温和或激进的方法可能更有意义.

有哪些常见的投资类型?

Investments are grouped into asset classes，或类似的金融证券. While many types of investments exist, here are the most common asset classes:

Cash equivalents 流动资产是为你持有资金支付利息的资产吗. Some examples are savings accounts, money markets, and certificates of deposit (CDs). 它们是一种低风险、低回报的投资.

Bonds are basically loans that you, as an investor, make to entities, such as governments, municipalities and corporations. The bond 发行者承诺将偿还你的全部贷款金额加上利息. Investors like bonds because they generally give a fixed interest rate; however, bonds are subject to interest rate risk and may decline in value due to an increase in interest rates. 债券是一种中等风险、中等回报的投资.

• U.S. Government bonds – Issued by the government to get money for a wide range of governmental activities or to pay off the national debt. Government bonds generally hold a low risk as an investment because the government is less likely to fail.
• Municipal bonds -由城镇或城市发放，用于支付公共项目费用, such as schools, or to support operating budgets. A municipal bond has different risk depending on the town or city issuing the bond.
• Corporate bonds – Issued to raise money for a company expansion or takeover, or even changes in management structure. Corporate bonds may hold more risk than other types of bonds, depending on the company.

Stocks are shares of a company. 当你购买一家公司的股份时，你就成为了股东. Shareholders make money when the stock price goes up and lose money when the stock price goes down. The company may also issue dividends, which is the company sharing its profits with shareholders.

股票是根据其资产规模来分类的 市值(市值), which is the total market value of a company’s outstanding shares of stock.

• 大盘股(市值100亿美元以上) – Stocks issued by larger, well-established companies, that generally have less risk, 但与中小盘股相比，也有更少的增长潜力.
• 中盘股(市值20亿至100亿美元) -成长型公司发行的股票, 这类股票通常比大盘股风险更大, 而且还有更大的增长潜力.
• 小盘股(市值不超过20亿美元) – Stocks issued by smaller, newer companies, 这类股票的风险通常高于大盘股和中型股, 同时也有更高的增长潜力.

什么是多元化，为什么它有益?

Diversification 是一种投资不同类型资产类别的策略吗, such as cash equivalents, stocks and bonds, 帮助降低市场波动的风险. 多元化就是不要把所有的鸡蛋放在一个篮子里.

如何实现多元化?

If you're looking to balance or mitigate the risk levels in your investments, these two investment options may help you achieve diversification since they already include a variety of stocks, bonds and other securities:

• Mutual Funds – Represent a basket of different investments where you pool your money with other investors so you can achieve a higher level of diversification than you could on your own. A mutual fund’s 价格是在每天股市收盘后确定的.
• Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) – Similar to mutual funds, EFTs代表了一篮子不同的投资, but one of the differences is that EFTs are repriced throughout the day.

What is an investment portfolio?

An investment portfolio is a collection of assets. 换句话说，你所有的投资. Your portfolio will likely take time to develop and mature, and patience is key. 在继续学习的过程中，最好保持长远的眼光 monitor your investments 建立你的作品集，尤其是当 planning for retirement. You may need to make adjustments over time to ensure they continue to align with your objectives.

What is a prospectus?

A prospectus is basically a packet of information that all companies must make publicly available and file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) when offering investment opportunities to the public. The purpose of a prospectus is to provide detailed information about a company's investment offerings to help potential investors make informed decisions about their investments.

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